The Lovereading4Kids comment

February 2014 Book of the Month An intensely moving, edgy and brilliantly told story with a strong teen-girl protagonist. How can Shiv live with what she did? An unforgettable story that will stay in readers' minds long after they finish the book.

In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Never Ending a small number of readers were lucky enough to be invited to review this title. Here's a taster....'a beautifully, skillfully written novel that plunges head-first into the true complexity of the aftermath of the death of a loved one...High praise to Bedford for a truly magnificent book.' Safiyah Davenport.

Scroll down to read more reviews...

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Synopsis

Never Ending by Martyn Bedford

Shiv's best mate, her younger brother, Declan, died while their family were on holiday in Greece. Shiv doesn't know how to live any more - she can only feel self-hatred; she is tormented by guilt. Now she finds herself at the Korsakoff Clinic, with five other teens and young adults who are undergoing a most unorthodox therapy, which is often painful. But this is Shiv's last chance - the clinic must help her find a way to live again. But first, their methods will make her face what really happened to her brother.

Never Ending is Martyn Bedford's second novel for Walker Books.

Reviews

Teens love to read and so a small number of members were lucky enough to be invited to review Never Ending. You can read their reviews below.

Maddy Faulkner, age 11 - 'I enjoyed reading this book and it made me laugh and cry at the same time. I will definitely read this a few more times and look out for more by this author!' Click Here to read the full review.

Aimee Sweet, age 13 - 'I give this a five star because of the build up to the climax and the incredible characters made.' Click Here to read the full review.

Safiyah Davenport, age 15 - 'a beautifully, skillfully written novel that plunges head-first into the true complexity of the aftermath of the death of a loved one...High praise to Bedford for a truly magnificent book.' Click Here to read the full review.

Izzy Read, age 13 - 'As much as it was a sad book it was also mysterious as well; slowly feeding the tragic tale alongside the story. This was a great book with a different topic to most books, so read it!' Click Here to read the full review.

Alice Horncastle, age 13 - 'What struck me about this book is how amazingly written it is - the plot, characters and mystery weaved into two different worlds - The Korsakoff Clinic and a holiday in Greece. A truly masterful read!' Click Here to read the full review.

Lola Bridgeman, age 16 - 'Never Ending is unputdowable, a truely astonishing novel. It is bitter sweet and heartfelt, haunting you long after you put it down.' Click Here to read the full review.

Karianne Turner, age 11 - 'This is a very sad and touching story...and I can’t wait to read more of his books which will no doubt be as good as Never Ending.' Click Here to read the full review.

Tahmin Ali, age 13 - 'Personally, I think this book is interesting...It holds suspense and tells the story of Declan’s death as you read along as well as how Siobhan (also known as Shiv) copes.' Click Here to read the full review.

Rosa Boran, age 14 - 'I did like this book. It was edgy and a great read though it did lose me towards the end...a good story that's told well and I'd recommend it.' Click Here to read the full review.

About the Author

Martyn Bedford is the author of five novels for adults and two for young adults.He has also had numerous short stories published in anthologies, newspapers and magazines and broadcast on radio and the Internet.Martyn is a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, where he studied under Malcolm Bradbury and Rose Tremain. He is a senior associate lecturer in creative writing at Leeds Trinity University College and has previously taught at Manchester, Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan universities, as well as an academic writing residency at Leeds Trinity as a Royal Literary Fund Fellow.His creative-writing teaching also includes school groups and residential courses for the Arvon Foundation and he was a founding consultant and critic-in-residence for the online writing forum YouWriteOn.com.He was a fiction critic for the Literary Review (2000–2009) and previously reviewed for the New Statesman. Before becoming a writer and teacher, Martyn worked for thirteen years as a journalist in regional newspapers all over the UK.

Martyn was born and grew up in Croydon, south London, but has lived for many years in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, with his wife and two daughters.